The cables, such as insulated strands or full conductors made of copper or steel, which are processed on a cable processing machine are usually supplied in drums, on rolls or as bundles, and for this reason after unrolling they are often bent to a greater or lesser degree and twisted. Straight aligned cables are important in order to be able to reliably carry out envisaged processing stages on the cable processing machine, such as stripping, crimping and, if applicable, fitting with plug housings. In order to align the cables as straight a possible they are generally pulled with the aid of the drives present in the cable processing machine through one or more straightening devices arranged at the inlet to the machine.
A comparable straightening device of this type is known, for example, from EP 2 399 856 A1. The straightening device comprises an upper series of rollers and a lower series of rollers which can be moved relative to each other in order to adjust the straightening parameters. The cable to be straightened is passed between the rollers of the two roller devices. The distance between the rollers can be set manually by means of an adjusting screw or by means of a rotary knob. For this the straightening device has a scale which is inscribed with various cable dimensions, or a sensor which measures the distance between the roller plates. When manually adjusting the distance between the rollers with these adjusting aids, the user alone is responsible for setting the straightening device correctly, which is prone to error. According to EP 2 399 856 A1 adjusting the distance between the rollers can alternatively also take place in fully automatically manner. For this, for example, the input mechanism for moving the upper row of rollers against the lower row of rollers is equipped with a motor drive. However, this variant is technically complex and cost intensive.